Where Do I Go From Here?
by J.A.Phillips
Summary: After the final battle with Devil Doom, Shadow awaits his friends as he ponders what he should do with his life from here on out. ShadowxRouge. Rated for small amounts of swearing.


DISCLAIMER: Whoo, this is a long one...-Attempts to do all in one breath- I do not own Sonic, any of the characters of the Sonic franchise, the game Shadow the Hedgehog (I only rent it from Roger's lol), which this story takes place directly after, the 'To Zanarkand' theme from FFX (AKA my 'Fluff Theme' LOL), or 'Where Do We Go From Here?' from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. -Falls to the ground, clutching chest and panting hard-

NOTE: When you see THIS (c it means that this is the music I was listening to whilst writing the current piece.

WARNING: The following story contains mild language. Viewer discretion is advised. Also,be on the lookout for signs ofinfectious fluff. lol

Finally, a quick shout out to all my fellow ShadowxRouge lovers out there. This one's for you...

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Where Do I Go From Here?

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(c-To Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X 

Shadow looked out the window on the main deck of the ARK, feeling somewhat mixed and bittersweet. Yes, he'd saved the world from the Black Arms, and yes, he'd done what he'd originally set out to do: discover the truth about his past and who he really was. Yet now, the question that occupied his mind was no longer 'Who Am I?', but rather, 'Where Do I Go From Here?'. After all, he'd accomplished everything he'd been created to do.

_So just what is left for me now?_ he wondered. _What do I do with my life? Where in the world do I go from here?_

Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of Tails' shuttlecraft heading up to the ARK. Likely to pick up Shadow, since the Chaos Emeralds scattered around the world again after the final battle with Devil Doom and he could not Chaos Control over such a huge distance on his own. Shadow started to turn to the main lift, when he looked down at his hand, which held a picture of Professor Gerald and Maria.

The black hedgehog's eyes narrowed, a tear starting to form in his eye. Wherever he went from here, he could never go back. Slowly, he turned around and flipped the picture behind him.

"Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog..." he muttered as he went to the lift.

* * *

The doors of the main lift opened, revealing the cargo bay to Shadow. The shuttle was there, with the ramp starting to open. Deep inside, Shadow really had no idea what to expect from everyone. Sure, he'd saved the world, but he'd almost caused the world to be destroyed, too. He was afraid everyone would hate him for that. 

Everyone filed out from the shuttle. First Sonic, then Amy and Cream, Tails, Knuckles, Team Chaotix, Eggman...

...Rouge. That was the one Shadow seemed stuck on, and the one he feared most. He feared that she hated him more than he feared that ANYONE would hate him. They'd become good friends in their past adventures, but truth be told, deep down inside in places Shadow worked hard to made sure no one knew he had, he loved her.

(c-Where Do We Go From Here? from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

_Where Do We Go From Here?  
Where Do We Go From Here?  
The battle's done, and we kinda won,  
so we'll sound our victroy cheer,  
Where Do We Go From Here?_

All of a sudden, everyone rushed at him. Still a little afraid they were going to jump him, he was very surprised to be the recipient of flying hugs from Cream, Charmy, and Tails. He stood rather still for a second, not sure what to do, but decided to hug them all back. Sonic ran up to him and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder, as did Knuckles. Vector gave him a noogie, Espio gave a smile and a thumbs up, Eggman gave a sort of bow of his head out of gratitude. Shadow smiled, glad everyone welcomed him quite literally with open arms.

Then he looked past everyone else as he noticed Rouge was hadn't joined in the celebration. As Tails, Cream, and Charmy hopped out of his arms, he walked past everyone and up to Rouge, who seemed to have a tear in her eye.

_Why is the path unclear?  
When we know home is near?  
Understand we'll go hand in hand,  
but we'll walk alone in fear.  
Tell me, Where Do We Go From Here?_

SLAP!

Shadow rocked back a little like he'd been hit by debris from Devil Doom. He could feel his heart break as he looked back to the scowl on Rouge's face. She pointed a finger right in his face.

"That was for being a dope, worrying me sick, and nearly handing the whole world over to the Black Arms!" she explained quite angrily.

Shadow nodded sadly. He started to look away, but stopped whenhe felt Rouge grab his face and turn it back to her. The tears were flowing freely from her eyes, and the scowl was gone. She pulled his face close and placed her lips on his. He blushed fiercely, turning a brighter shade of red then the streaks in his quills. His eyes were about as wide as they'd ever been. The kiss lasted for what seemed like forever when they finally pulled apart.

"...And that was for?" Shadow asked, sounding quite dumb.

Rouge smiled. "For SAVING the world from the Black Arms, saving ME and everybody else...and just because I wanted to."

_When does The End appear?  
When do the trumpets cheer?  
The curtains close on a kiss, God knows  
We can tell The End is near,  
Where Do We Go From Here?_

Shadow hugged Rouge tightly, smiling the truest smile he'd smiled in God only knows how long. He cried happily, pretending to ignore the whooping and cheering from Sonic and the others. And on that space station, where he'd been created 50 years beforehand, and where all too many battles had been fought since then between himself, G.U.N., his new friends, and the Black Arms, he finally realised the truth.

_Where do I go from here? _he asked himself, already knowing the answer. _Wherever the hell I want. I can finally do what I want, be with who I want, and not be held down by my past. This is WHO I AM._

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A/N: ...Well, not too bad, right? Hope ya'll liked it. 

Well, as always, read and review, folks! J.A. out!


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